A former public schoolboy, who died in police custody having been sectioned, had battled with serious mental illness after starting to smoking cannabis as a teenager, his father told his inquest today.

James Herbert, 25, had claimed drugs were 'expanding his mind' and ignored his parents' desperate warnings about the toll the substance abuse was having on his mental health, the coroner was told.

The inquest heard how Mr Herbert had moved on from smoking cannabis to regularly consuming large quantities of cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy and LSD.

Tormented: James Herbert, pictured, had started smoking cannabis aged 15 or 16, before moving on to cocaine, LSD and other drugs, inquest told

After turning 18 he got involved in the rave scene and then later started taking ‘legal highs’.

Mr Herbert died two years ago after being detained under the Mental Health Act by police in Somerset.

He was seen acting strangely in Bath Road, Wells, on June 10, 2010, and was restrained by police and placed in the back of a patrol van.

East Somerset Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Herbert was taken to Yeovil police station to be assessed by doctors.

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He was placed in a police cell and was discovered not to be breathing and taken to hospital where he was declared dead.

Mr Herbert’s father, Tony, a company director, told the inquest of his son’s descent into mental illness.

‘James started smoking cannabis when he was 15 or 16 years old and subsequently took ecstasy, ketamine and cocaine, as well as occasional use of LSD,’ said Mr Herbert, who is divorced from his son’s mother Barbara Montgomery.

‘We counselled James away from his use of drugs.

‘I worried about the long term effect on his mental health.’

Grim evidence: Tony Herbert and Barbara Montgomery, pictured, spoke out against the police's treatment of their son, which they believe led to his death

Mr Herbert, from Coventry, West Midlands, told the jury inquest how his son had been asked to leave his school - the private St Christopher School in Letchworth, Herts - after his GCSEs following an incident with drugs.

‘James had been attending a progressive private school and I believe at the school at the time a significant number of students involved in recreational drugs,’ he said.

‘James was asked to leave St Christopher after his GCSEs in 2001.

‘It seemed to me his openness and honesty were mostly to blame for what I still consider a damaging and unfair decision to exclude him.’

After turning 18 and passing his driving test, Mr Herbert joined the rave scene.

Tragedy: The inquest heard how James Herbert was discovered unconscious in a cell in Yeovil police station having been restrained by officers

‘James enjoyed the rave party culture and he started spending many of his weekends at these raves,’ Mr Herbert said.

‘James would talk very openly and honestly to me about what was going on in his life.

‘He enjoyed using drugs both as they helped him overcome his natural shyness and social reluctance but also because he felt his mind was expanding.

‘He also told me of having a very serious cocaine binge at home in Letchworth

‘He suddenly experienced the anxiety and paranoia of being “psychedelically attacked” by specific people.

‘He would not accept this was a result of the drugs he had taken.’

Mr Herbert stressed that his son was never violent towards others.

‘With
hindsight I am pretty sure that James’s mental illness had started in
late 2005 possibly as a result of his cocaine use,’ he said.

‘Although
he never articulated that drugs were the cause of his problems he did
say that he could not fight off the psychic attacks on him if he was
under the influence of drugs.

‘James
regretted the amount and frequency of his cannabis use when he was
younger and said it had made him apathetic and susceptible to psychic
attacks.

‘But he did not articulate any link between his previous drug use and the way he was feeling.’

Mr Herbert said that by end of 2006 his son had started seeing a psychic counsellor who had helped him to stop taking drugs.

‘By now I was sure he was mentally ill and I also felt that the psychic counsellor was helping him.’

Mr Herbert stopped seeing the counsellor in late 2009 because he believed he was psychically attacking him.

Mr Herbert told the hearing how he received a telephone call from his ex-wife on the evening of June 10 to say his son had been detained by the police.

‘She told me that she and Mike had found a large crowd and a police van outside the Britannia Inn in Bath Road,’ he said.

Drug toll: The inquest, being held in Wells Town Hall, pictured, heard how James Herbert suffered mental ill health for several years after starting to smoke cannabis as a teenager

‘She said she got out of the car and walked over to the van and she saw it was James in the back of the police van.

‘She said she went to the side of the van to talk to James and he told her to “go away b****”.

‘She described James being restrained with his hands handcuffed behind him and his legs bound.

‘She described how James got on to his knees with a bounce and fell on to his side with his head against the van door.

‘She said he looked desperately uncomfortable with his head jammed into his chest and he was bright red and his eyes were watering.

‘She told me she pleaded with the police officers to take him to hospital because he was ill but one of them said he would be taken to Yeovil police station and assessed when he calmed down.’

Mike Montgomery, who is married to Mr Herbert’s mother Barbara, said his step-son was not addicted to drugs and could stop taking drugs.

He told the inquest that he and his wife had gone to look for Mr Herbert in Wells town centre and came across some police cars and vans outside the Britannia Inn.

‘Barbara jumped out of the car,’ Mr Montgomery said.

‘I assumed James was already in the back of the van.

‘A man said they had arrested James and used quite a bit of force.

‘He said one had his hand around James’s wind pipe. I assumed he meant the police officer but he was not specific enough.

‘I could see Barbara talking to the police and she was saying things like “look after him” and “get him to hospital”.’